Toy horse



No. 62|,945.' Patented Mar. 28, I899.. F BITTER TOY HORSE.

(Applieatiun filed Nov. 17, 1898.)

(No Model.)

.T s m A llwrrn TATE'S FRIDRICH BITTER, OF'PORTLAND, OREGON.

TOY HORSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,945, dated March28, 1899.-

Application filed November 17, 1898- 4 11 NO- 696,681. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may 0012001 71 Be it known that I, FRIDRIGH BITTER, acilizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county ofMultnomah and State of Oregon,have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Toy Horses; and I do declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to toy horses; and the invention consists in theconstruction, combination, and arrangement of parts substantially asshown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective elevation of thehorse and carriage complete. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly insection, so as to disclose features of the invention not seen inunbroken View.

In the foregoing structure the essential importance of having a horse somounted; that he can be ridden by a child without danger of being upsetor falling off has been taken especiallyinto account,and thisdistinguishes it from kindred devices in which such advantage is absentand the rider is in momentary danger because of insufficient breadth ofbase and the elevation of the mount.

In my invention the horse is placed on a pair of axles or shafts, eachof which carries two wheels, the two at the rear being widely spread orsupported and those at the front being brought comparatively neartogether immediately beneath the horse, and the body of the horse isarranged well down to the wheels, so that the entire structure standslow and easily mounted and is not dangerous even if the child were tofall off.

A represents the body of the horse, which preferably is made solid andin this instance is supposed to consist of light wood; but of course itmay be wholly or in part of this or other material, and it maybe hollowinstead of solid, if desired. In cases Where wood is used or othermaterial liable to be broken I provide protection for the neck by makingthe neck and head part in a separate piece, which is hinged or joinedwith rubber to the body at a, and there is an intervening space betweenthe parts at either side about the pivot,so that there is room for theneck to yield or give laterally, if occasion requires, to preventbreakage. Then as a matter of support for the neck I introduce a rubberor equivalent collar 1), which is placed about the neck at the joint andpreferably set into a rabbet or recess in the parts, so that the outersurface thereof will be flush with the neck.

At his rear the horse has supports a, resting on the shaft 0, upon theends of which are the rear wheels D, and the legs or supports a, may befashioned as shown here or in any preferred way, and they may be rigidwith the shaft, or the shaft and wheels together may have a bearing inthe said legs, as may be found most convenient and desirable in construction and operation.

At the front I employ two wheels E and H, which are arranged side byside on a crankshaft G, which has pedals g at its extremities. Thesewheels are of the same size, and the wheel E is rigid with shaft G, soas to rotate therewith, while the wheel E is loose upon the said shaft.Hence when the vehicle is driven by and through the pedals G it has allthe freedom for turning which an ordinary single front bicycle-wheelwould have; but for the purpose of steadiness and breadth of support forthe child the two wheels side by side give the desired width of bearingto prevent easy overthrow of the vehicle.

A steering-standard H runs down at the front of the horse to shaft G andcarries a bearing h for said shaft between the wheels E and E, and thesaid shaft turns in said bearing. Supplementary to this bearing is thepair of side braces h, rigid with the standard above the wheels andextending laterally at right angles to the outside of the wheels, whencethe said braces run down to and are fixed upon the shaft G outside ofthe hubs of said wheels, but within the cranks having the pedals g, andthus shaft G is supported in three places, and the steering head orstandard H is made rigid therewith for all purposes of control, as wellas for strength.

At its top the standard II is provided with handle-bars J, which curvelaterally and rearwardly about the sides of the neck of the horse at asuitable elevation for convenience to the rider and are rigidly fixedupon the standard, so as to thereby control the direction of travel andto steady the rider. Two

plates or brackets 2 and 3 are fixed upon the front of the horse, oneabove the other, at suitable elevations and distances apart, throughwhich the standard II passes and which serve as bearings for saidstandard, and the said standard is constructed with pins or collars 4 ortheir equivalent to prevent axial move ment in said bearings. As shownhere, the body of the horse is cut away slightly at its front to allowthe wheels E and E to come beneath in close working relation, thushelping to keep the horse down on a low plane, as well as givingcompactness to the structure, which is very desirable.

By attaching the standard H at the front outside, as shown, the body ofthe horse does not need to be constructed with reference to thisattachment, and if a part is broken or detachment is necessary thechange and re pair can be made without difficulty.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In toy horses, the body of the horse and the rear wheels supportingthe same, and a steering-standard fixed to the front of the horse on theoutside thereof and havinghandie-bars on each side of the.horses neck,substantially as described.

2. A toy horse and supporting-whcels therefor front and rear, incombination with a steering-standard at its front and a pedalcontrolledshaft supported in said standard and front controlling-wheels one ofwhich is engaged to rotate with said shaft, plates fixed to the front ofthe horse for supporting said standard and handle-bars from the standardrearward by the neck of the horse, substantially as described.

3. The body of the horse, in combination with two rear and two frontwheels, a shaft on which one of said front wheels is loose to turnindependently of the shaft, a steering frame and standard for said frontwheels, and a handle-bar on each side of the horses neck engaged withthe top of said standard, substantially as described.

4. The toy horse described constructed in two parts hinged together atthe base of the neck, and a flexible collar about the neck over theopening to the hinge, substantially as described.

Vitness my hand to the foregoing specification this 11th day ofNovember, 1898.

FRIDRICII BITTER.

\Vitnesses:

II. E. MUDRA, R. B. MosER.

